Creating a regional dental center serving six rural county health districts.

People with Medicaid or no dental insurance have a difficult time accessing dentists in private practice. The problem of access is more profound in rural than urban areas. Safety net dental clinics operated by small rural local health districts are difficult to start up, operate, and maintain. The number of these facilities in the United States is small and not evenly distributed to meet needs. This article describes how a full-service dental clinic was established to serve six rural county health districts in Northwest Ohio. Retired volunteer dentists were instrumental in the success of creating the clinic, starting with a field-type operation in 2001 serving 316 persons and building into a full-time regional dental center that served 1,306 individuals in 2007.